The owners of Broadgate have applied for a certificate of immunity from listing the City complex in advance of their plans to carry out a significant overhaul of the estate.

British Land and Blackstone submitted a planning application to the City of London Corporation on Friday seeking to transform the area around Broadgate’s popular Circle, an arena that is converted into an ice rink every winter.

But in a move that could reignite last year’s furious dispute over whether Broadgate’s original architecture should be retained, the owners have also asked English Heritage for a legal guarantee that it will not